Black workers make up about 1 in 9 workers in the United States and 1 in 6 front-line industry workers, according to a report released Monday by the Economic Policy Institute. Black workers are disproportionately represented in grocery stores, convenience and drug stores, public transit, health care, child care, and the social services sector, the report found.
The Hill
June 1, 2020
What it means: Heidi Shierholz, director of policy at the Economic Policy Institute, notes that 19.1 million workers were on continued claims as of May 16, and 4.1 million more have filed initial state unemployment claims since then.
- Add those to the PUA numbers for initial and continued claims and it equals a total of “34.2 million workers who are either on unemployment benefits, or have applied very recently and are waiting to get approved,” she says on Twitter.
Axios
June 1, 2020
According to the Economic Policy Institute, around 16.2 million of the roughly 35.3 million workers who lost their jobs due to COVID-19 (so far) likely had employer-provided health insurance. For New York State, the number of newly unemployed workers — not including their families — who probably lost employer-provided health benefits is around one million and counting. Where I live, in Western New York, that number could end up topping 100,000.
The Indypendent
June 1, 2020
Different decisions will affect different populations and economic sectors in varying ways. Some Illinois residents have been hit with a double whammy: they are vulnerable both to the virus itself and to the economic fallout. An analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics from the Economic Policy Institute found that African American and Latino workers are much less likely to have jobs that allow them to work from home. Under the current conditions, these individuals are bearing more risk — either to being infected while at work or to economic hardship from losing their jobs. In Illinois and across the nation, African American and Latino populations have been disproportionately affected by the virus.
NPR Illinois
June 1, 2020
“The unemployment situation is going to get worse before it gets better, and unemployment benefits applications will continue to flood in.” —Heidi Shierholz, Economic Policy Institute
Common Dreams
June 1, 2020
With Tor working a steady 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. shift as a restaurant supervisor Monday through Thursday, Bree handles the pickups after she gets off work at 5:10, getting Gabby first. Bree then rushes across town to collect her older children at their school after-care before 6:00 or she’ll be charged a $1-perminute late fee—something Bree can’t risk, considering that her family already spends a whopping 55 percent of their monthly household income on child care. Altogether, the pickups take 45 minutes, and Bree doesn’t get home with her kids until 6:30, so dinner and bedtime are later than she’d like. Bree handles some evenings with the kids alone, while Tor works a second nighttime shift. She sums up their life in one word: chaotic. “As I’m running around, trying to be where I need to be, it’s anxiety-inducing. I don’t ever allow myself to stop and think about it all,” says Bree. “Otherwise, I’d be paralyzed by fear.” Unfortunately, the weekend doesn’t offer any respite from the juggle. Since Tor’s home, Bree picks up additional shifts at her old job, clocking in some Friday nights and most Sundays at McDonald’s. In total, Bree pays $768 a month in child care, compared with her monthly rent of $650—a situation that reflects a national trend: Child care for two children now costs more than rent in most parts of the United States, according to the Economic Policy Institute, an independent, nonprofit think tank in Washington, D.C. Says Bree, “I usually finish out the month with 60 bucks left over, if I’m lucky.”
Parents Magazine
June 1, 2020
One of the most commonly cited statistics about savings is the Federal Reserve’s annual survey looking at how many Americans can cover an unexpected $400 expense with cash or savings. In 2018, 39 percent of those surveyed didn’t even have that modest sum handy — a decline from 50 percent in 2013. Hence, individuals drawing down their 401(k)s. “People don’t plan around a steep decline in income,” says Monique Morrissey, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive think tank in Washington.
Governing
June 1, 2020
As governor, Mr. Walker decimated funding for public schools and colleges, cut health care, and tried to destroy unions in favor of big tax cuts for the rich and corporations. An Economic Policy Institute study found that states like Wisconsin that followed this strategy delayed their recovery from the Great Recession by four years.
The New York Times
June 1, 2020
“There’s going to be pent up demand when the economy reopens. People have less of a debt overhang right now and the stock market is already rebounding,” says Monique Morrissey, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute. “All of that would lead me to believe people will start spending again.”
Money
June 1, 2020
People of color are more likely to live in densely populated areas and work frontline jobs—as public transportation operators, grocery store employees and warehouse distribution workers, for example. And according to the Economic Policy Institute, only 16 percent of Hispanic workers and about 20 percent of black workers can telework, compared to 37 percent of Asian and 30 percent of white Americans.
Share Care
June 1, 2020